I notice in my error log there are messages which says the Databasename IO is frozen for snapshot then follow by IO is thawed, it also say that the "Database backed up: Database: databasename(time): 2010/09/12(07:51:45), pages dumped: 1, first LSN. But really it appears that it didn't back anything up. This is on my SQL 2000 box (ver 8.00.2039) we have upgraded our backup utility ArcServ from version 16 to 16.5. could the problem be with our backup utility and, is this a know issue And how to fix it???

I haven't worked on version 2000 in years, but I don't remember seeing those messages in the error log. To confirm that there is or isn't an issue, perform a restore to a test machine or restore with a different name.

You'll have to check the Arcserv documentation to see if it's VDI/VSS compatible, or contact their support. It sounds like it may have done a VSS snapshot.

Generally speaking I recommend using native SQL Server backups, or a SQL Server specific backup utility like Quest LiteSpeed or Redgate SQL Backup. Most general backup products like Netbackup, Arcserv, and DPM are not VDI aware and may not support the same restore granularity.